No Arabic abstract
The analysis of 14 periodograms of EZ Lyn for the data spaced over 565 d in 2012--2014 (2-3.5 yr after 2010 outburst) yielded the existence of the stable signals around 100 c/d and three signals around 310 c/d, 338 c/d and 368 c/d (the corresponding periods are 864 s, 279 s, 256 s and 235 s). We interpret them as independent non-radial pulsations of the white dwarf in EZ Lyn, but a possibility that a linear combination of frequency at 100 c/d and harmonic of orbital period could produce the frequency at 368 c/d also cannot be excluded. The signal at 100 c/d was detected during the first stay in the instability strip as a transient one. The period at 338 c/d, is a known non-radial pulsation EZ Lyn entered the instability strip after the 2010 outburst. We detected the signals around 310 c/d and 368 c/d for the first time. We applied the two-dimensional least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) analysis for the first time to explore the behavior of these signals on the scale of hours for nightly runs of observations having duration of 6-12 hr. The Lasso analysis revealed the simultaneous existence of all three frequencies (310 c/d, 338 c/d and 368 c/d) for majority of nights of observations, but with variable amplitudes and variable drifts of frequencies by 2-6 percents on a time scale of ~5-7 hr. The largest drift we detected corresponded to 17.5 s in period in ~5 hours.
The overstability of the fundamental radial mode in M dwarf models was theoretically predicted by Rodriguez-Lopez et al. (2012). The periods were found to be in the ranges ~25-40 min and ~4-8 h, depending on stellar age and excitation mechanism. We have extended our initial M dwarf model grid in mass, metallicity, and mixing length parameter. We have also considered models with boundary conditions from PHOENIX NextGen atmospheres to test their influence on the pulsation spectra. We find instability of non-radial modes with radial orders up to k=3, degree l=0-3, including p and g modes, with the period range extending from 20 min up to 11 h. Furthermore, we find theoretical evidence of the potential of M dwarfs as solar-like oscillators.
We summarize the results of a 20-year campaign to study the light curves of BK Lyncis, a nova-like star strangely located below the 2-3 hour orbital period gap in the family of cataclysmic variables. Two apparent superhumps dominate the nightly light curves - with periods 4.6% longer, and 3.0% shorter, than P_orb. The first appears to be associated with the stars brighter states (V~14), while the second appears to be present throughout and becomes very dominant in the low state (V~15.7). Starting in the year 2005, the stars light curve became indistinguishable from that of a dwarf nova - in particular, that of the ER UMa subclass. Reviewing all the stars oddities, we speculate: (a) BK Lyn is the remnant of the probable nova on 30 December 101, and (b) it has been fading ever since, but has taken ~2000 years for the accretion rate to drop sufficiently to permit dwarf-nova eruptions. If such behavior is common, it can explain other puzzles of CV evolution. One: why the ER UMa class even exists (because all members can be remnants of recent novae). Two: why ER UMa stars and short-period novalikes are rare (because their lifetimes, which are essentially cooling times, are short). Three: why short-period novae all decline to luminosity states far above their true quiescence (because theyre just getting started in their postnova cooling). Four: why the orbital periods, accretion rates, and white-dwarf temperatures of short-period CVs are somewhat too large to arise purely from the effects of gravitational radiation (because the unexpectedly long interval of enhanced postnova brightness boosts the mean mass-transfer rate). These are substantial rewards in return for one investment of hypothesis: that the second parameter in CV evolution, besides P_orb, is time since the last classical-nova eruption.
The disc instability model (DIM) has been very successful in explaining the dwarf nova outbursts observed in cataclysmic variables. When, as in intermediate polars (IP), the accreting white dwarf is magnetized, the disc is truncated at the magnetospheric radius, but for mass-transfer rates corresponding to the thermal-viscous instability such systems should still exhibit dwarf-nova outbursts. Yet, the majority of intermediate polars in which the magnetic field is not large enough to completely disrupt the accretion disc, seem to be stable, and the rare observed outbursts, in particular in systems with long orbital periods, are much shorter than normal dwarf-nova outbursts. We investigate the predictions of the disc instability model for intermediate polars in order to determine which of the observed properties of these systems can be explained by the DIM. We use our numerical code for the time evolution of accretion discs, modified to include the effects of the magnetic field, with constant or variable mass transfer from the secondary star. We show that intermediate polars have mass transfer low enough and magnetic fields large enough to keep the accretion disc stable on the cold equilibrium branch. We show that the infrequent and short outbursts observed in long period systems, such as e.g., TV Col, cannot be attributed to the thermal-viscous instability of the accretion disc, but instead have to be triggered by an enhanced mass-transfer from the secondary, or, more likely, by some instability coupling the white dwarf magnetic field with that generated by the magnetorotational instability operating in the accretion disc. Longer outbursts (a few days) could result from the disc instability.
Context. Although the disc instability model is widely accepted as the explanation for dwarf nova outbursts, it is still necessary to confront its predictions to observations because much of the constraints on angular momentum transport in accretion discs are derived from the application of this model to real systems. Aims. We test the predictions of the model concerning the multicolour time evolution of outbursts for two well--observed systems, SS Cyg and VW Hyi. Methods. We calculate the multicolour evolution of dwarf nova outbursts using the disc instability model and taking into account the contribution from the irradiated secondary, the white dwarf and the hot spot. Results. Observations definitely show the existence of a hysteresis in the optical colour-magnitude diagram during the evolution of dwarf nova outbursts. We find that the disc instability model naturally explains the existence and the orientation of this hysteresis. For the specific cases of SS Cyg and VW Hyi, the colour and magnitude ranges covered during the evolution of the system are in reasonable agreement with observations. However, the observed colours are bluer than observed near the peak of the outbursts -- as in steady systems, and the amplitude of the hysteresis cycle is smaller than observed. The predicted colours significantly depend on the assumptions made for calculating the disc spectrum during rise, and on the magnitude of the secondary irradiation for the decaying part of the outburst. Conclusions. Improvements of the spectral disc models are strongly needed if one wishes to address the system evolution in the UV.
We report on the discovery of an eclipsing dwarf nova (DN) inside the peculiar, bilobed nebula Te 11. Modelling of high-speed photometry of the eclipse finds the accreting white dwarf to have a mass 1.18 M$_odot$ and temperature 13 kK. The donor spectral type of M2.5 results in a distance of 330 pc, colocated with Barnards loop at the edge of the Orion-Eridanus superbubble. The perplexing morphology and observed bow shock of the slowly-expanding nebula may be explained by strong interactions with the dense interstellar medium in this region. We match the DN to the historic nova of 483 CE in Orion and postulate that the nebula is the remnant of this eruption. This connection supports the millennia time scale of the post-nova transition from high to low mass-transfer rates. Te 11 constitutes an important benchmark system for CV and nova studies as the only eclipsing binary out of just three DNe with nova shells.